Next week will have 2 recreational weed stores opening in MA, the first on the East Coast. MA has spent 2 years talking about this since legalization, and they ended up with the model the other states have adopted. Apparently they like talking about things a lot.
Things will go well. The media coverage (look at that market) will be huge, and naturally the stores will run out of product. Prices will be high. But, the important thing is the media, the frantic reports of long lines, the happy faces for first legal purchases.
The next week or so will have the first day of legalization in Michigan, the media coverage here will be a smoke-in to celebrate, but stores won’t be open for a year. Michigan should be able to put together the program fairly quickly, then they’ll have the midwest market for a while.
Then, I’m watching New York and New Jersey. It’s not in their nature to be the runners-up in cultural changes, and the competition between the two to be “first” will drive them into full-blown legalization and regulation.
It’s time for the feds to back off, the states have it handled.